#Debugging

In this article I'll cover testing and debugging Caché web applications (mainly REST) with external tools. Second part covers Caché tools.

You wrote server-side code and want to test it from a client or already have a web application and it doesn't work. Here comes debugging. In this article I'll go from the easiest to use tools (browser) to the most comprehensive (packet analyzer), but first let's talk a little about most common errors and how they can be resolved.

When there's a performance issue, whether for all users on the system or a single process, the shortest path to understanding the root cause is usually to understand what the processes in question are spending their time doing. Are they mostly using CPU to dutifully march through their algorithm (for better or worse); or are they mostly reading database blocks from disk; or mostly waiting for something else, like LOCKs, ECP or database block collisions?

The %Net.SSH.Session class lets you connect to servers using SSH. It's most commonly used with SFTP, especially in the FTP inbound and outbound adaptors.

In this article, I'm going to give a quick example of how to connect to an SSH server using the class, describe your options for authenticating, and how to debug when things go wrong.

Here's an example of making the connection:

I recently realized it's been far too long since I talked about the latest features in the InterSystems ObjectScript Extension for Visual Studio Code.

I'm pleased to announce version 2.12.1 of the ObjectScript extension, containing a number of enhancements that make a developer's life easier. Some highlights are described below, including the #1 requested feature from Global Summit -- XML import!

Introduction

In the next few weeks, my coworkers are planning to start using VSCode to code with InterSystems' products. Among the many advantages of that, I would emphasize being able to connect with other technologies, such as GitHub, with ease. Besides, VSCode also offers an extensive extensions store, where you can find many free add-ons that make coding faster and more efficient. Last but not least, to conquer the heart of every developer, it is open source.

With the world (as well as our own technology) moving to the cloud at such a fast pace it is easy (at least for myself) to get caught up in the little details. One thing I, and some clients of ours, had run into a couple of times was the necessity to specify the version of the images one plans to use with the IKO.

In the WRC, we frequently see customers contact us because their Web Gateway is unable to serve web pages. This article will explain a frequent reason why these errors can occur, and explain some tools which can be used to debug the problem. This explanation is focused on the Web Gateway serving InterSystems IRIS instances, but the same explanation should apply to the CSP Gateway serving Caché instances as well.

Intro

If you ever wondered how to debug some requests that are being made to or from IRIS, well here is a little tutorial on how to do that.

During a complex project, usually you get the specifications and implement the communication between IRIS and other things based on that. But from the paper to the real world there's usually a huge gap and you need to know why you are receiving an error on a parameter, on a header, you are not receiving the data and so on.

Hi developers,

We're excited to let you know about the latest release of Serenji, your on-the-spot debugger from George James Software. Version 3.2.0 focuses on the debug experience and introduces zero configuration for users. No matter where you are or what you're doing, Serenji is always ready to go in just one click, so you won't lose focus by spending time setting up a launch configuration.

This enhanced debugger also takes advantage of the latest features of VS Code itself. With this powerful combination you'll be able to smoothly identify and quickly fix errors in your code, contributing to the production of quality, maintainable code... and isn't that what everyone wants?!

In this latest release you will experience:

• Debugging in just one click with zero configuration.
• Navigation directly to the source of an error using our gj :: locate technology.
• Intuitive prompting for entrypoint and arguments.
• Configurable break on error.
• Program output in debug console.
• Run and Debug CodeLenses.
• Run multiple concurrent debug sessions and consoles.
• Shaded background for read-only documents.

If you're a new user, it's now easier for you to get started. The introduction of a welcome page Walkthrough and guidance on the Explorer and Run and Debug views means you can effortlessly create your initial workspace and start debugging.

Download Serenji directly from the VS Code marketplace and take a look at our release notes to find out more about these new features and how to use them.

We offer a free 30 day trial so if you're not yet a user of Serenji but you're interested in how it can help you, drop me a message through the Developer Community or email us at info@georgejames.com.

Happy debugging!

Following 2 local Webinars we had focused on VS Code ["Intro" and "Beyond Basics"; in Hebrew], I prepared for the participants some related links of relevant resources which we sent as a follow-up. Sharing them here as well for the benefit of the Community.
You are all of course welcome to add more useful resources.

Many programming languages use the try-and-catch construct to handle runtime errors gracefully. If the code within the try block encounters an error, it will throw an exception to the catch block, where the error handling occurs.

We at George James Software are pleased to announce that our acclaimed code debugger and editor Serenji is now available as a Visual Studio Code extension.

As well as supporting the latest InterSystems IRIS platform Serenji also works with earlier platforms, including versions lacking the server-side Atelier API support required by other VS Code extensions.

Serenji connects you directly to the code in your namespaces, resulting in an experience more familiar to existing Studio users. No need to export and import classes and routines.

We believe Serenji is the first extension to bring VS Code's powerful debugging features to ObjectScript developers.

Hey everyone!

I recently learnt something new while working with WRC on an issue, and I wanted to share with everyone on the off chance it could help someone else.

Scenario:

Files are being inexplicably written to a folder on your server and, due to the number of files in the folder and general system throughput, it is not possible to work through the files to track down the source.

The article makes an attempt to demonstrate that Atelier is not just repeating the functionality of Caché Studio on a new IDE platform (Eclipse) but goes far beyond. Due to my personal experience, and challenges in former projects I picked first XSLT Debugging. Is it an ordinary task? Not at all. Who is doing XSLT every day? Probably none of us. Than why XSLT Debugging? Simply because there are solutions in our product portfolio which are using XSLT inside and those solutions require customization. Customizing XSLT without some sort of toolkit is more than challenging. The examples of such solutions starts with HealthShare IHE message, CDA vs. SDA transformations, goes through ZEN Reports, and ends by HealthShare CDA document viewer. Is that enough reason to spend time reading the whole article through not just the teaser?